First Solar Expands Further Into Community Solar With 121MWs of Projects

First Solar is continuing to expand into community solar power with 121 megawatts of newly announced community solar projects with M+W Energy and other companies. The company is best known, perhaps, for its giant solar farms is increasing its presence in the community solar market, which is one of the fastest growing sectors of the distributed solar industry.

Community solar power is an attractive market for utilities and consumers because it gives both something they want. It gives utility customers a chance to get solar power even when they can’t put it on their own rooftop or can’t afford a whole system. It also gives utilities a way to support their customers’ wants while allowing them more control for project siting and project design.

The new projects and size of this new portfolio suggest First Solar’s approach to community solar echoes it’s approach to utility-scale solar power. “This scale of community solar implementation is extraordinary, and suggests the enormous potential for this market segment," said Georges Antoun, First Solar's Chief Commercial Officer. "Small one-off installations cannot match the economies of scale realized by utility-scale portfolios that minimize development costs, transaction costs and building costs, while bringing end consumers the freedom to choose solar energy."

The newly announced bookings of projects, 41 megawatts of which are already being built by M+W Energy, build on First Solar’s entry into the community solar market last year. Last October the company announced that it partnered with Clean Energy Collective (CEC) on four projects that would use First Solar's thin-film photovoltaic panels.

First Solar did not disclose where the projects will be or who is purchasing them. Regarding the M+W portfolio of projects it said the company is constructing several small, closely sited solar projects. Regarding the bulk of the projects First Solar said that many are still in development and have not not yet been publicly announced. However, many of those additional facilities should break ground by the end 2016.

The following system would zero out your power bill and the savings shown would be made over the life of the system

ESTIMATEDSYSTEM*

ESTIMATEDSAVINGS*

Now get live pricing!

How it works: When you enter your details we display a more detailed online estimate. We then
seek live pricing from installers for the size of system you need. Live pricing data is an installer's most
commercially sensitive information and so this is why we are required to validate your name,
address and phone number. If we cannot validate this information your estimate will only
include historical pricing from past installations.

Get Live Pricing from:
Number of Installers: 3 2 1 Historical Prices Only

* Estimates are based on standard costs for utility power and installations in your zipcode and
may vary from the detailed estimate that you will receive once you enter your contact
information below. Calculations are based on a 100% loan over 20 years, with a 25 year payback,
4.5% loan rate, and 3% per year inflation in electricity prices.

TCPA Disclosure: By clicking the above "estimate my system"
button you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and authorize Solar-Estimate.org or our
chosen solar installer/s to use the phone number entered to verify the accuracy of the ballpark
estimate given by the site and give you an accurate quote. Some installers may use
auto-diallers or send automated text messages if they cannot contact you and these may
result in charges to you. You consent to receiving these communications even if the phone
number entered above is on the "Do not Call" register.